Memories was the last part of Avatar Ages live stream concert series. I liked that it had had a concept. I mean, it wasn't just a concert in which the band played songs from the first three albums. It was a story about the band showing the guys' journey from the rehearsal room to the world.
About 25 minutes before the show, there were two really old live footages of the band. The first one was Avatar's first show ever, the other one was recorded at the concert where Henrik and Simon had played in the band for the first time.
The live stream concert started with Johannes as he was laying on a sofa evoking some memories about what a rehearsal room meant to a band, how the guys learnt to play without looking at their instruments... This time he didn't have his clown makeup on and wore his clothes from old times. Then he joined the others in a set which reminded us of a rehearsal room. The wall was decorated with some old concert and for example a signed The Haunted posters. Actually, everything started from this place. The opening song was Schlacht. John's foot drum head also reflected this era. After that, My Shining Star came from Thoughts Of No Tomorrow. The first Avatar music video was made for this song. The next piece was Stranger written by Simon (he played in the band before Tim). Johannes' introductory words were typical of him :). A little humor and sarcasm. One of my most favorite songs from Schlacht is the "romantic" Die With Me. During its instrumental part, Johannes found an empty pizza box. Then he helped John wiping the drummer's forehead. Next, another song All Hail The Queen from the album mentioned above was played. The first set was closed by War Song.
In the short intermission, there were some old recordings and photos of Avatar. Showing the guys' and the crew's creativity, it was also planned. In the final footage, the band have just finished the show leaving the stage.
When the well-known Avatar logo appeared in the background, we found ourselves and the band on a simple "concert stage" that was the next level in the musicians' life after leaving the small rehearsal room. The songs of the setlist for Memories was also selected by fans. It so happened that they played the 3rd album in its entirety. (It is interesting, because they did the same with Hunter Gatherer which was their latest album and this self-titled record was the "old" Avatar's last album.) So, the order of the songs followed the tracklist. The first piece was Queen Of Blades. It was my first favorite song from this album. Johannes' gas can could also be seen on the floor. It was ingenious to put a small camera on it. After The Great Pretender, the frontman told the story of the gas can :). Shattered Wings was followed by Reload. We could see and hear this song in live in the past few years. I had had my favorites from the 3rd album, but hearing Out Of Our Minds, I realized how good was it. When I listen to the song Deeper Down, I always think, how Johannes could sing it every night on a tour at that time. I am not an expert, but it needs a really good technical knowledge not to damage the vocal cords. Then the band played Revolution Of Two and Roadkill. I love the tempo of this song. After the fast Pigfucker, Lullaby (Death All Over) was the icing on the cake with its last lines: "Farewell... Goodbye...".
The ending was very epic. Johannes sat down by the piano playing the final part of the song and the band joined him some moments later. While the other members were jamming, Johannes left the studio taking some steps with open arms towards the city. Then he stopped, bowed and walked away. The whole scene was full of symbolism. I thought, the sea, the buildings and the lights were equal to the world and the heart on one of the buildings in the background meant that the world had accepted Avatar. Henrik, Jonas, Tim and John still continued the jamming for a while. When everything turned black, Avataruary said goodbye to us, as well. So, it was a pretty cool finale.
Now I am feel empty somehow, because it was good to wait for the shows on Saturdays, but there won't be a next one this weekend. Each part had its own speciality. Dreams: The band played the new album Hunter Gatherer from the beginning to the end for the first time. Illusions: It was about two concept albums, Feathers & Flesh and Avatar Country containing two great stories. Madness: The title speaks for itself. The band played songs from Black Waltz and Hail The Apocalypse. Memories: It evoked Avatar's early years through the first three albums. Thanks to the band (and the people behind these shows) for the time-machine experiences and bringing back the real concert feeling. I wish, there would be "Avatarpril" in some months :)!
Schlacht
My Shining Star
Stranger
Die With Me
All Hail The Queen
War Song
Queen Of Blades
The Great Pretender
Shattered Wings
Reload
Out of Our Minds
Deeper Down
Revolution Of Two
Roadkill
Pigfucker
Lullaby (Death All Over)
Some moments:
Avatar:
Johannes Eckerström - lead vocals
Henrik Sandelin - bass, backing vocals
Tim Öhrström - guitar, backing vocals
Jonas 'Kungen' Jarlsby - guitar
John Alfredsson - drums
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